Formation of microporous polymeric materials by microemulsion radiation polymerization of butyl acrylate

A microemulsion system composed of butyl acrylate (BA) and water with the mixture of sodium 12-acryloxy-9-octadecenate (SAO) and octylphenoxypoly(ethoxyethanol) (OP-10) as emulsifier was initiated by γ-ray at room temperature to polymerize and produce microporous polymeric materials. The morphology and swelling characteristics of the resulting polymeric materials were studied. It was found that they depend strongly on the composition (water content, crosslinker content, emulsifier content) of the precursor microemulsions. In addition, the swelling properties of polymer so prepared were also found to be sensitive to the pH of the swelling medium. The change in swelling behaviors of the polymeric materials is discussed in terms of the polyelectrolyte effect exhibited by polymerized anionic emulsifier SAO. (author)